Queer Justice League

[Andy Velez]

This is the name of a new group which came about after Larry Kramer's speech celebrating ACT UP's 20th anniversary. As stated on the flyers we wrote up the other night in my living room in preparation for for a first event at the Christopher Street Piers this Friday night at 8pm,

"The Queer Justice League is a group of activists who challenge oppressive forces and stand in allegiance with all who support our diverse community."

I spent a good part of this afternoon putting together a cross-generation CD mix with one of the guys for Friday evening. Among the cuts are Madonna, Scissor Sisters, Whitney, Aretha (3!), Little Anthony & The Imperials, B-52s, Hollywood Flames, Celia Cruz, Pastor Lopez, Blur, Platters, Rufus Thomas and more.

Any of you NY area folks who can make it, come to the Christopher Street Pier on Friday, 8pm. Music, candy kisses, real kisses, dancing and more celebrating the queer presence at the piers. Gay, straight and anywhere in-between are welcome!

Cheers,

[pozniceguy]

Andy .. I hope you didn't forget one of my favorites   Tina Turner.....especially a track called
"Steamy Windows"


even though I can't be there I would like to hear the mix.....gonna post any of it???

Nick

[Andy Velez]

Nick, the problem was we had so many favorites to choose from that we had to do it with the thought that this is only the FIRST mix we're doing. And there will be more to come for other events.

I'll see what I can do about getting the mix posted here.

Stay tuned.

[Basquo]

Andy .. I hope you didn't forget one of my favorites   Tina Turner.....especially a track called
"Steamy Windows"


Nick

OMG--total hijack, but I listened to that song on my roadtip weekend before last!  My minivan has a cassette player, so I was listening to a tape I made in 1991 for the party that followed the funeral of a dear neighbor who passed away--you guessed it--of AIDS. He had given me some of his records so the tape was mostly his music.

Andy--playlist, please!

[Andy Velez]

Whitney -  I Want to Dance With Somebody
Aretha - Young, Gifted & Black
Little Anthony & The Imperials - Shimmy Shimmy Koko Bop
Rufus Thomas - I Can Do It
Scissor Sisters - Flippin' Tricks
Queen - Bicycle
B-52s - Rock Lobster (thanks, Iggy)
Celia Cruz - Just When You Think You Got It You Ain't Got It At All
Hip Hop Hoodios - Kike on the Mic (My son Abe's band singing in Spanish, Hebrew & English)
Ella Mae Morse w/ Don Raye - House of Blue Lights
The Gossip
Aretha - Respect
Ethel Merman - Everything's Coming Up Roses (disco version)
Beyonce -  Crazy Right Now
Pastor Lopez - La Cumbia
Hollywood Flames - Buzz Buzz Bumble Bee
Blur - Nothing Is Wasted
Madonna - Time To Celebrate (We Need A Holiday) 
The Platters - The Great Pretender
Aretha - Nessum Dorma
Whitney - I Want To Dance

Space restrictions had use leaving out many we wanted to include. Those will be for the next one. Tina, The Weather Girls, etc. I'm sure readers here will have some fine suggestions.

If you're in the NYC area this Friday evening, come on down!

[Iggy]

Andy,

Can you provide more info about what this is about?  I looked on the web and found some blogs that had outdated meeting info. but I'm not entirely certain what you guys do or what Friday is about.

Thanks.

p.s.  It's "Rock Lobster"....god damnit!...though I admit you mixing that on the same cd with Nessum Dora is kind of hot

[Andy Velez]

Iggy, some of what it is about in a general way is in the first entry I made. This is the first event/action/whatever the group has done. It was decided to just make it fun, a celebration of queers on the piers, a space which traditionally was a gathering place for lgbt and increasingly in recent years is being co-opted by realtors and others who don't want "undesirables" hanging out there.

Other events under consideration are mass kiss-ins at Staten Island Ferry, in subway stations such as Times Square, zapping Ann Coulter, etc. The intention is to raise visibility, target enemies of what we're calling the queer community, (even though some don't like the word "queer"), and in the process have fun.

If you have suggestions for actions, by all means speak up. The group meets every Thursday night at the GLBT Center on West 13th Street at 8pm. All are welcome no matter where they identify themselves on the sexual spectrum, including straight.

Some are working on the website to bring it up to date and to make it more reader friendly.

More will be revealed.

[JohnOso]

Other events under consideration are mass kiss-ins at Staten Island Ferry, in subway stations such as Times Square, zapping Ann Coulter, etc. The intention is to raise visibility, target enemies of what we're calling the queer community, (even though some don't like the word "queer"), and in the process have fun.

Fuck... thumping Ann Coulter would be worth the airfare to NYC alone.

In righteous solidarity 
John

[Jody]

Hi Andy...How did the get together go off?  Hope you all had a great time, I was exhausted after a work week and couldn't make it...Let us know how it went.

Jody 

[Andy Velez]

We had fun, Jody. There were about 30 of us and we were joined by about another 2 dozen or so, mostly young black & Latino pier regulars. We talked some, kissed some, played some great music, gave out candy kisses and hung out for a couple of hours.

The QJL meets every Thursday night at the LGBT Center on W 13th Street at 8pm and all are welcome to join us. We'll definitely be doing more stuff and right up there at the top of the list is to zap Ann Coulter if she is foolish enough to come to NYC.  Other suggestions for actions are appreciated.

[Iggy]

Andy,

I didn't go as I wasn't sure exactly what you all were planning to do and decided instead to hook up with a friend for dinner and drinks.   I did see this blog entry about the event though and I have a better understanding of what you guys were doing now.

I really hope the group's official blog gets updated as I think it would help attract people if there was a clearer message of what you guys are trying to do.

 http://blabbeando.blogspot.com/2007/05/as-for-queer-justice-league.html This link also has a link to another site with a  report too.

[Andy Velez]

We're in total agreement about the blog. Someone has been controlling it who hasn't even been attending meetings. Just the kind of mix of personal & political which happens all-too-frequently in activist groups.

We're expecting someone else to take over very shortly and regularly update what we're doing.

Thanks for your interest.